Winnipeg Jets Sign Jeff Malott
It was an impressive rookie campaign with the Manitoba Moose for undrafted forward Jeff Malott, and he’s going to get rewarded for it. The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with Malott on a one-year entry-level contract for the 2021-22 season. The two-way deal will carry an NHL salary of $780K.
Malott, 24, played four seasons at Cornell University period to this year but never experienced anything quite like the offensive success he had for the Moose. In 34 games playing on an AHL contract, he recorded 14 goals and 20 points while also bringing a level of physicality every night. The 6’3″ forward had one fighting major and 35 penalty minutes in his debut season.
A teammate of Cale Makar with the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL, Malott went undrafted despite dominating the league in 2015-16. He scored 25 goals in 46 games that season but failed to record more than six goals in any of his four years at Cornell. It seems that scoring touch has returned to Malott and it brings the promise of an NHL deal.
Emil Larmi Signs In Finland
The Pittsburgh Penguins have some question marks at the goaltending position after a rough playoff performance and at least one member of the depth chart won’t be there next season. Emil Larmi, who signed an entry-level deal with the team in 2019, is on his way back to Finland after inking a new two-year contract with the Lahti Pelicans.
Larmi, 24, has spent the last two seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL, though his performance there has been less than stellar. In six appearances this season he posted just an .845 save percentage, allowing nearly five goals per game. That follows the .883 he put up in 2019-20, certainly not what the Penguins were hoping for when they signed the undrafted netminder.
The team could potentially retain his restricted free agent rights with a qualifying offer, but there may not be much need after he struggled so much in North America. Larmi would technically still be an RFA after this new two-year deal expires, but would be arbitration-eligible, a relatively risky situation for a Penguins team that doesn’t want to commit any contract slots or salary unnecessarily. More likely he will go unqualified this summer and become an unrestricted free agent, perhaps never to play in North America again.
Jake Muzzin Out Minimum Of Three Weeks
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ season may be over tonight, but even if they manage to avoid elimination, Jake Muzzin won’t be back for a while. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters today including Kristen Shilton of TSN that Muzzin will miss a minimum of three weeks with a lower-body injury. The team will insert Rasmus Sandin back into the lineup in Muzzin’s place for tonight’s all-important game seven against the Montreal Canadiens.
Not only have the Maple Leafs lost their captain this series when John Tavares went down with a concussion and sprained MCL, but now they have lost the leader of their defensive group as well. Muzzin, 32, is the team’s most consistent defender, logging more than 21 minutes a night during the regular season, most of which came against the opponent’s best. The former Los Angeles King is one of just a handful of players on the Toronto roster with championship pedigree after winning the Stanley Cup in 2014.
The Maple Leafs did receive some inspiration at morning skate when Tavares attended in a full-contact jersey, but the veteran center will not be in the lineup this evening. He is still recovering from the brutal head injury he suffered in game one. Jason Spezza told reporters that Tavares’ presence at practice provided even more motivation, saying that “the best thing we can do as teammates is win a hockey game for him and give him an opportunity to get closer to playing.”
They’ll have to do it without Muzzin, but there will be at least a little more support for the team tonight. The Ontario government reversed course this morning and announced that 550 fully vaccinated healthcare workers will be in attendance at Scotiabank Arena. This will be the first time the Maple Leafs have played to a home crowd in over a year.
Latest On Seth Jones
The Columbus Blue Jackets have been unable to retain their stars in recent years, with names like Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Matt Duchene all leaving in free agency. The next big name on that list is Seth Jones, who will enter the final season of his six-year, $32.4MM contract in 2021-22 with unrestricted free agency right around the corner. Though the Blue Jackets would obviously love to sign the Norris contender to a long-term contract to keep him in Columbus, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on Hockey Night In Canada that the 26-year-old will not sign an extension with the team at this point.
We can tell you that sometime in the last week or so, Seth Jones informed the Columbus Blue Jackets that he will not be re-signing. I’m saying ‘for now’ at this point because I don’t like to deal in absolutes. But it does appear as if he is prepared to test free agency and we’ll see how Columbus decides to handle this over the next little while.
If Jones has told the team he intends to go to the open market, it means the Blue Jackets will be forced to at least test the market to see what kind of return would be available with one year remaining on his deal. The team is coming off a brutal season that saw them fall to the very bottom of the Central Division standings at 18-26-12, parted ways with their head coach, and traded away their captain Nick Foligno.
Moving Jones would be a huge transaction, but it wouldn’t be the first time the star defender was traded. He arrived in Columbus in a blockbuster five years ago, swapped for up-and-coming center Ryan Johansen. Since then he has turned into one of the very best all-around defensemen in the league, able to contribute offensively while also matching the other team’s best on any given night.
Of course, the Blue Jackets could decide to( and have suggested in the past that they will) keep him and use the next 12 months to attempt to change his mind. Jones’ next contract will likely make him one of the highest-paid defenders in the entire league and as long as the Blue Jackets are willing to pay market value, any growth this summer and next season should be seen as positives.
The Jones situation in Columbus will be one of the most interesting to keep an eye on through the summer and up to the 2022 trade deadline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Evening Notes: Travel Exemption, Brodin, Suter
At the Toronto Maple Leafs-Montreal Canadiens game this evening, there are fans in the building for the first time in Canada since March 2020. It’s not a full building, but it’s a start for all the Canadian hockey fans that have been forced to watch their favorite team from home the last 14 months.
One question still remains about the playoffs, however, as it is not immediately clear how the league will go about a third-round series between the North Division winner and a U.S.-based team. There had been talk of a potential hub city plan, with the Canadian team moving south of the border, but Darren Dreger of TSN reports that a travel exemption is expected at some point which would allow games to be played in both home cities. As with anything these days, nothing can be taken for granted until it is official, which Dreger reiterates is not the case just yet.
- The Minnesota Wild have some time to decompress and deal with any ailments now that they have been eliminated from the playoffs, but at least one injured player will avoid surgery. Jonas Brodin suffered an AC join injury in his left shoulder last night, but according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, he will not require surgery.
- The focus for the Wild though is how they tweak the roster after a strong but ultimately unsuccessful first round against the Vegas Golden Knights. Zach Parise talked to reporters including Sarah McLellan of the Star-Tribune, but couldn’t really explain what’s going to happen to him after a trying year. Parise ended up as a healthy scratch in the playoffs but still has four years left on his 13-year, $98MM contract. “We’ll see where it goes. I don’t know. I don’t know,” Parise told McLellan. “We’ll have to figure that out in the coming summer what’s going to happen, but I don’t really have an answer on that right now”
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/29/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in the COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:
Colorado – Jayson Megna
Vegas – Brayden McNabb
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: None
No changes to the list except that the Minnesota Wild are no longer included after losing last night’s game seven. Ryan Reaves was removed from the protocol yesterday and suited up for the Golden Knights, giving them back their physical bottom-six presence. McNabb, who provides the same sort of physicality for the defensive group, has now been on the list for four days and is still unavailable to the team.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/28/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in the COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:
Colorado – Jayson Megna
Vegas – Brayden McNabb
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: Peyton Krebs, Ryan Reaves, Vegas Golden Knights
It’s good (but not the best) news for the Golden Knights, who have Reaves and Krebs available to insert into the lineup for tonight’s game seven if they choose. Unfortunately, McNabb will still be unavailable for the team as they try to stay alive and keep the Minnesota Wild from making an impressive series comeback.
*denotes new addition
Spencer Carbery Wins AHL Coach Of The Year
Barry Trotz. Jon Cooper. Bruce Cassidy. All three of these coaches have their NHL teams through the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. All three also won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as Coach of the Year in the American Hockey League. The group of winners also includes several other current (or interim) NHL head coaches like Peter Laviolette, Jeff Blashill, John Hynes, and Don Granato. It’s not a guarantee of an NHL future, but it certainly suggests one.
This year, the award has been given to Spencer Carbery, head coach of the Hershey Bears. The 39-year-old former ECHL player has quickly climbed the coaching ranks in the minor league, going from assistant coach of the South Carolina Stingrays in 2011 to AHL Coach of the Year in 2021. The path that Carbery is on will take him to the NHL one day, but for now, he is finding great success with the Bears.
Over three seasons with Hershey, Carbery has led the team to a 104-50-17 record and very well could have won the Calder Cup with the group he had in 2019-20. That success is nothing new. During his time as head coach of the Stingrays, he went 207-115-38 and made the playoffs in all five seasons. Had there been playoffs in the AHL over the last two seasons, his Hershey club would also have made it each year of his tenure.
Even with this latest award, don’t look for Carbery’s name to be on the market anytime soon. In April, the Capitals announced multi-year contract extensions with him and his coaching staff, noting that Carbery had built a “culture of success” with the minor league program.
Snapshots: Ducks, Kings, Desruisseaux
The Anaheim Ducks will not be making any changes at the general manager or head coaching positions, according to Eric Stephens of The Athletic. Ducks GM Bob Murray indicated today that both he and Dallas Eakins will return for the 2021-22 season, despite the struggles the team has gone through on the ice. The team finished 17-30-9 on the season but do have some nice building blocks in young players like Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale.
Eakins, who now has an 82-126-32 record as an NHL head coach, is only signed through next season. With the team going through a rebuild, it seems as though he may end up being the sacrificial coach before a more experienced or successful name is brought in to really compete. Of course, if the Ducks turn things around and make the playoffs next year that could all change.
- The Los Angeles Kings have made four additions to their hockey operations staff hiring Ryan Kruse as Vice President of Research and Development, Jake Goldberg as Senior Director of Hockey Operations, Vukie Mpofu as Manager of Hockey Operations, and Legal Affairs and Rosie Yu as Software Engineer for Research and Development. The group has a varied history, but in terms of NHL experience, Goldberg is coming from the Arizona Coyotes where he served as Director of Hockey Operations and Assistant to the General Manager.
- The Laval Rocket have announced a one-year, two-way minor league contract for Cedric Desruisseaux, who will join the club for the 2021-22 season. Though he stands only 5’8″ 165-lbs, Desruisseaux dominated the QMJHL this season, recording 42 goals and 78 points in 40 games. That easily led the league in both categories, though the undrafted 21-year-old will have a much tougher time putting up those kinds of numbers in professional hockey. Still, he’ll get a chance to show what he can do in the Rocket organization.
Second Round Of Stanley Cup Playoffs Will Start On Saturday
May 28: Now that the Hurricanes have defeated the Predators, there is a start time for their upcoming series against the Lightning. Carolina and Tampa Bay will kick things off on Sunday, May 30 at 5pm ET.
May 27: The NHL has announced that the second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin on Saturday, May 29. The Boston Bruins and New York Islanders will kick things off at 8pm ET. On Sunday, May 30, the Colorado Avalanche will take on the winner of the Minnesota Wild-Vegas Golden Knights, who are set to play their game seven on Friday.
The two other series, which will include the Winnipeg Jets taking on the winner of Toronto-Montreal and the Tampa Bay Lightning taking on the winner of Carolina-Nashville do not yet have start dates. The Maple Leafs could end their North Division series tonight with a win, while the Hurricanes will try to knock out the Predators afterward.
Interestingly, should the Canadiens push the series further, the sixth game will be on Saturday and seventh on Monday, while the second round has already begun. If the Maple Leafs end it tonight, things would be able to get lined up pretty well for the NHL. Even if Nashville stays alive tonight, the Central Division series will be over by Saturday night’s game seven.